COVID-19 cases surpass 45,000 in Belarus

Belarus has recorded 861 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, pushing the tally to 45,116 as of June 3, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Five more patients died of the infection in the country, raising the toll to 248.

Belarus, a country of about 9.5 million people where most live in urban centers, has been run by the same president, Alexander Lukashenko, since 1994, and is now grappling with one of Europe's highest per capita coronavirus infection rates.

Earlier, the World Health Organization recently singled Belarus out for a "lack of adequate social distancing measures" and called for the country to shutter nonessential businesses and enforce distance learning.

But the country's approach remains relaxed - it has so far advised self-isolation for those who have tested positive or returned from a foreign country and said people should maintain a 1.5-meter distance.

Cafes and bars are still open, the football league is going ahead, and on April 25, around 25 percent of the population took part in a "community work day", including the president himself.